No, that’s not a euphemism. I’ve been banking with Nat West ever since I was a student, which is more years ago than I care to remember: in those days campuses were swarming with banks eager to get their hands on your student grant, though not so eager to offer an overdraft. This was fine by me; credit is far too easy to get nowadays and that makes me – well, uneasy. Be that as it may, there came a day when I fell on hard times and needed an overdraft. By then it was all too easy to get, and thanks to the charges I got deeper and deeper into debt; in the last few years my balance has bumped the limit of the overdraft on a monthly basis. I was just about coping with the charges but then they saw fit to double them, since which time I’ve been desperate to change banks. Nationwide, being just about the only mutual left, is the obvious choice, but how to do it? I could have transferred my overdraft but I wanted to start with a clean slate, with an account that had no overdraft facility. Yet how was I going to get my hands on that sort of money?
And then there was a windfall. Miracles may take longer but they do happen, and thanks to this windfall I was able to pay off my overdraft in one fell swoop. I kept opening my banking app to gaze at my balance, in the black for the first time in years. But the greatest joy of all was to give Nat West the heave and switch my account to Nationwide. The switch was completed today and it gave me huge twinges of pleasure to cut up my old debit card and stick it in the bin.
The joy of bank.
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 
Good news. post hoc now, but Martin Lewis offers good advice about switching bank accounts, and it appears that some banks will offer cash incentives to switch. Nothing to say you can’t change again, if you feel up to it? I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t, though, because I’m always very indecisive about financial matters, especially if any upheaval is involved 😉 Cheers, Jon.
There is an incentive, I should be getting £100
That’s good: I hope you do! 😀
I find Nationwide quite good.
My wife worked for Natwest for 12 years, until she was made redundant in 2018. It was a ‘false redundancy’ in effect, as they re-employed someone to do the same job at 60% of her salary, and changed the job title to avoid any issues.
I have been with HSBC since it was the Midland Bank in the 1970s. I have never once had an issue with them, so I am happy to stay with them for the foreseeable future. They also have a local branch, and as I don’t do online banking, that is very convenient for me.
Best wishes, Pete.
Good to know